o I took a moment this weekend (and I still finished the EDT paper on time!) and took my first trip to the holy land USA in waterbury... you guys know this place? it was built in the 50s as sort of a religious theme park without rides. It is in total disrepair now and as long as you tell the nun who runs it that you will not sue if you get hurt she lets you in to enjoy the ruins. The creation of all this comes from the confluence of american immigration during the cold war. All the stuff was built in the italian american tradition of the religious yard shrine and the creator wanted it to be a symbol of religious freedom that he believed was under attack in the world during the soviet era in europe. You ever see that giant cross on the hill in waterbury?... holy land usa. Even the neighborhood surrounding it is a world of symbols, homes built by residents in the italian american style of the 1930s, Puerto Rican flags in the windows... huge side yards with the remnants of grape vines, everything just dripping in history and meaning.

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